Polish tax policy worries currency traders

WARSAW: In Poland, the deadline to file annual tax returns is April 30, 2018. This year, Polish authorities have notified taxpayers that they must file taxes on any cryptocurrency trading and gains.

“In connection with the obligation to file a tax return for 2017, we would like to remind you that in PIT [personal income tax] you should also show revenues from the sale or exchange of cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, Litecoin and ether,” wrote the Polish Finance Ministry.

What this boils down to is that revenue from cryptocurrency trading is subject to the graduated Polish income tax, plus a myriad of other requirements. According to international tax advisory network KPMG, in Poland, annual income between 0 and 85,528 PLN ($25,244.44) is subject to 18 percent tax. Income above the 85,528 PLN threshold is subject to a tax of 15,395.04 PLN plus32 percent of any excess over 85,528 PLN.

One particularly confounding section of the ministry’s guidance details a 1 percent tax on civil law transactions (PCC). This would mean that the transfer of property rights (read: the purchase of cryptocurrency) triggers a 1 percent tax on the market value of the transaction.